


I will make us a home inside your head

by HopelessFujoshi



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, In which I write a lot about dreams and then things get wild, The others will be making appearances but I'll be updating the tags as they become accurate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:52:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopelessFujoshi/pseuds/HopelessFujoshi
Summary: Taako didn't expend much thought for the Umbrastaff at first. The extent had essentially been 'Sick, new weapon. ' and then he had promptly moved on to kick some ass. Then they were hired to work on the moon and the day had continued without any more time to mull over the risk of stealing from dead people.There might be more baggage attached to the Umbrastaff than he had realized.Alternatively :Lup and Taako reunite in dreams.





	I will make us a home inside your head

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is gonna be the first thing I've posted for like ten years. Ouch. This concept has been eating at me for months and I really really would like to share it! I don't have a beta, so I apologize for any mistakes Grammarly didn't catch. 
> 
> I'm going to be updating rather sporadically, but I do have a basic outline of things! I suppose it's more of a drabble than anything right now but! Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think/ if you'd like to see more/ what you'd like to see, etc. Thank you for checking it out!
> 
> (RE: chapter titles, most, if not all of them will be named after In Love with a Ghost's work. Their songs are actually what had me writing this story. 10/10 do recommend.)

Years alone on the road could build seemingly odd habits. 

For example, as long as Taako could remember, he slept with his possessions. Magnus and Merle had all but busted a gut at the sight their first few nights together- Taako curled up in a sleeping bag with the top of his hat peeking out further than the wild curls spilling from his head. Taako with his cheek pressed into his component filled pouch instead of the pillow that sat just inches away. Taako emerging from his hoard of blankets only to send a wild array of jewels and coins scattering to the floor in his wake.

(He counted later to make sure everything was accounted for. When it wasn't, it resulted in a full-blown shakedown of his roommates for the missing copper until it was found in one of Merle's potted plants. The dwarf swore up and down that he had nothing to do with it and Pringles had been looking awfully shifty, so Taako relented in the third-degree treatment. It was a reminder to keep an eye on their fourth roommate for a while after.) 

To him, it was common sense. Sure, he thought the guys were funny and all, but he isn't a chump. No longer stupid enough to trust his stuff with a whole moon full of strangers. Blind trust in others was an easy way to get your shit stolen. A rookie mistake that you never made twice if you had any chance of survival. Madam Director had hired him after all, so clearly, morality or trustworthiness wasn't too high on the scale of job requirements.

The point being, upon finding a sick new Umbrella/wand hybrid courtesy of a super dead skeleton in a cave, Taako didn't care if it was unwieldy and obnoxious to stuff an umbrella into his bed. If he could manage every other time, he could make this work. So he does. 

It's a precarious situation with the Umbrastaff haphazardly tucked alongside the usual stash of pilfered gold, components, and the spare pillows smashed into the wall to keep it all on the bed. Thankfully, precarious doesn't translate to unbearable, so with his arms sprawled protectively out over his possessions and the Umbrastaff's wooden handle digging into his collarbone, Taako falls asleep.

\-------

He opens his eyes and finds himself encompassed by darkness. Regardless of how he squints or where he looks, the world is an unremarkable blank slate. 

Experimentally, he raises his hand to wiggle in front of his eyes. They remain indistinguishable from the backdrop of nothingness even as his fingertips brush against his nose. 

"Well... Guess I live in this drab void now. That sure is outstanding."

Collapsing into a heap on the floor, Taako closes his eyes and tucks his arms behind his head, ready to wait for the most boring dream of the entire multiverse to finish up. 

That is until he hears his name.

"Taako--?"

While unreasonable and senseless, that barely-there wisp of a voice is enough to have him leaping up from his standstill in the darkness. He isn't someone who goes headlong into danger, having long since been smarter than that. And yet despite it all, He follows it blindly, hands reaching out in front of him to help where his vision failed him. 

His gut twists into violent butterflies as the disembodied call for him continues, the owner's pitch rising in an audible panic the longer it takes him. 

Miraculously, his hands grasp onto something in the darkness, dense velvet. It's an overwhelming relief. He knows who he's looking for is nearby, the call of his voice is closer now than it had been earlier. He can hear them. Right beyond the curtain.

But the damn thing knows he wants past, and it almost seems to fight him all the harder for it. He grapples and curses and shoves at the heavy material before it relents, allowing him to stumble past it. 

It spits him out in a dimly lit circle. Finally, he can see, even if there isn't much to take in. 

The circle is surrounded by the same thick velvet that he had squirmed past, the ceiling lost in the darkness. And it's empty aside from him and-

him and-

. . . 

His brain can't complete the circuit. The thought is tantalizingly close, but it aborts at the very last second, leaving it to restart, and retry. Over and over the thought rolls in his head as he tries to force it to make sense.

Footsteps are what break the cycle, making him lose his already vague grasp of the thought process. Instead, his focus shifts to staring at the figure in the middle of the velvet room that's making their way towards him.

Most likely, he should be concerned about this room, about the charm or whatever the hell is causing the compulsion that's working its way through him to make him act like this. 

Instead, it's unremarkable. After the rollercoaster of panic that had wreaked adrenaline-fueled havoc on him, this small room with its menacing figure is not something he can work himself up into being worried about. All in all, a little underwhelming. 

Staring back at him is a skeleton adorned in a vaguely familiar red robe.

Taako doesn't move, watching them watch him. 

Was he about to get dream murdered? Maybe? Probably.

The skeleton only increases the assured demise by suddenly dashing towards him, launching into his side, smacking at his arms and pressing cold finger bones against his chest. Accompanying the abrupt physical contact is a mixed flurry of static and nonsense spilling from their clacking teeth as they check him over, prodding at his skin and tugging at his clothes.

"It took you long enough to come say hello! Where are the others? Barry? C̴͠a̕͏͘p͏͟'̶̡̧̧n̷̢͜'̷̡͘p̷̷̧͡ơ̷͞҉r̨̕ţ͘͞? And Lucretia? I can't believe I died so soon after leaving and never thought of a fail-safe for the Umbrastaff-- Talk about being a doofus. But I had to get m̶͘y̵̨̕ ̵̧͟g̡͝͞a̸͜͝u͜͢͢͏̡n͞͡҉ţ͢l̵͠͡ę̨̨̨͟ţ͜͞.̶̷̨̕͢ ͢͜͜͝I̕͞͝ ̴̕͝c̸̢̨͘ơ̧̕u̡l҉̶̧d̶̡̢͠n͏̢҉'̸̷͏t̵̛͘͟͜ ͠b͝͏̨͢e͘҉͟͠͠a͜͞r̴̛ ͜͡͏͜҉l̢̨͢͞e̴҉t̴̢͘͟͟ti̡͢͡n͟͜g̢̛ ̶̵͠i̛͜͡t̷̶͢͡ ̡͞o̕͞u̴͢͞͝t͏͜ ̵̕a̡͟͜n̸͝͝y̶̡͝m͝o͘͜҉̢r̷̡͟͞͡e̡.̵͝҉ ҉͟N̵͜͝o̧̧t̡̧ ̷̢̕͜w̢͏i҉̵̧̛t̴̶͞h̴̷̕ ͟͢͢͏h̛͘͢͝ơ̡̕͡w͝͡ ̵͢͏m̧͢a̶̛̕͝n̕y̸̴̡͘ ͏͡p̵͞ȩ̸̕o̸͡p͏͜͞l̸̡e̕͝͝ ̶̵i̷̕t͏̨̧͡ ̢̡̨͟͝h͜͏͜u͟͡r̶̸͘͟͜ţ̵͘͘͝,̢̛͠͡ ̸̷I̴̢͟͝ ̸̕͞c̨͘o̡̧͠͡u̕͢͞l̸҉̶͟d͢͠n̸̷̕͜'͏̡͘t̡̢ ̶̢̕͡s̡t̵a͏̶n̵҉͝d̷̶ ̨͟͟͝k̢̛͝n͏̷̷̛͟o̸̸͜͝w͢͞į̷͝n̨͝g͡͡͞ ̷͘͜I̡ ̶͏w̶҉a̡̡s҉̢͟ ̨̕͢r̡̛͘e̛̛͜s̨͏̕p҉͏̧͘͡o̵̕͡n҉s̵̵i̧̨̨͡b̡̨̢͝l͜͡͝e̕ ̶̢͡f̢̡͟͝͠ơ̴̷̢҉r̷҉ ̵̴͘͡͡t̷̵̢̨̡h͟͝e̛͢͠i̴̛͏r͏̵͠ ̸͘d͜҉e̵͘͜͏͝a̛̕͠t̵̷͞h̴̨̧͢s̴͘͡,̴ but... moving along. How has everything been? How have you been..?"

A milk-white bone tracing along his cheek is what startles him out of the stupor. Belatedly, he jumps back from the contact, making space between them as he tries to regain a footing in the situation.

"Taako?"

He doesn't know how this skeleton knows him, or why they seem insistent on saying his name repeatedly, but it's enough to make him jittery. Brushing himself down for something to do, he tilts his head enough to stare down his nose at them. Disdain was a comfortable setting for him. He could think in that mode.

"Uhm- so like, listen, Bubbeluh, Hold up, m'kay? I'm sure being super dead made social skills hard or whatever, but that ain't really gonna work with ol' Taako."

Normally, that would prompt an embarrassed or rueful response, something to give him an upper hand. But the skeleton laughs, carefree and bright in a stark contrast to the gloomy surroundings. Dutifully, their hands drop to their sides.

"Honestly, yeah. I haven't seen or spoken to anyone after that backstabbing dwarf, Ugh. But. that's not what matters right now, Taako." They step closer to him again, a gentle insistent hand shifting back up to clasp his own. He represses a shudder as they continue, squeezing lightly. 

"I̵̡̛ ͝m͡is͟͠ş҉͟e͏̸͝҉d͡ ̨̛̕͢y̷̡͞ou͜͠ so much And I wasn't sure I was ever going to get out again. I thought for sure I would just be stuck here, with no one else knowing where I went to. I was so scared, Taako, so scared I ͏̸l̴̡̧e̴͝͡f̵̵̢͢͢t̷ ͝͡y̡͏̶̸͝ǫ̛͝u͜͡҉͠͠ ͏̨͠t̡҉̨̡͠h̶͢͞͝i̧͢ņ͟͠k̷͘͢͢i̡̨͜n̢̢͡g̸͞͝ ̷̛̛͢I̸̶̵̛͜ ̵̕͜h̶͏̵̧a͠͡͝ḑ̶͠ ̴̷͝͞l̕҉҉͟e̵f͠͏͠t̢̡̨̛ ̴͜͡o͝͞ņ̴ ̷̡̡p͢u̴͘͜͞҉r͜͞p̵͝o͟͡҉͡͠s̷͡e̶̸.͞ ̶̡͘͢ You know better don't you? I̕͝ ͠͞͡m͟i̸̛̕͟͠s͟͝s̵̴͘͡e̴̢̡d̴̨͏͏ ҉̵͘y̷̷҉̴ơ̢u̵̵͟ ͜͠e̶̵͞҉v̡̛҉͠e̵͜͝͞r̷̡y̴̢͡ ̨͟͝͞s̸͜͟͡͝i͢͠n͟͠͏g̶̡̛͘l̷͠͝҉͘e̷͞ ̨̛d͘a̢̡͘͟͏y͝͞͏.̡͟͜ I'm so glad you're here. "

Taako can't make sense of what they're going on about aside from a very real understanding of how serious and earnest this conversation is probably intended to feel. He can nod and hum accordingly, at least.

He sees the comprehension strike them, catching the exact second that they tilt themselves into his space. 

Well fuck, had they caught on that quickly?

"I was completely, absolutely listening, my dude--"

"Wait, no, Taako--"

The skeleton's hold tightens to a sharp degree, both their hands moving to wrap around his biceps. The scared hitch to their voice is what notifies him that yet again, this conversation is not going where he thinks it is.

Electricity sparks off the back of their body, crackling into the air and making the room reak with the smell of ozone. 

"Taako, how did you get here?"

There wasn't really an answer to that. Where was here? He didn't know any convenient skeleton hangouts with tacky curtains. He presumed this was all just some wack job dream. Maybe he was losing it, sleeping on the moon ended up being just one step too far. Or maybe Merle had lit up with some shady kush beside him? The possibilities were endless. 

He goes to tell them just that, but the words run dry on his tongue. 

When he looks at the figure just right, he sees something different. He blinks quickly, blinking until his eyes water and his vision blurs enough that he can try to make sense of this doubled image. 

Looking just to the left, out of the corner of his eyes, the Skeleton looks like an elf. There's a sky's worth of freckles on their face and a shade of eyes that he knows by heart. He had taken years to figure out what configuration of eyeshadow had worked best with these exact features because they were his. 

The detail that breaks his understanding of it all, is the haircut. It's a jagged sloppy mess of short hair, a style he'd never be caught dead in.

"Who-"

The velvet curtains fall victim to a vibrant burst of static and the world is splintering into itself around them. The dim lighting cranks up to blinding, and the afterimage of the skeleton vanishes in the light. 

He feels them- no- her.

He feels her quickly shift her hold to support him as his knees buckle, the static whiting out his vision completely.

She makes wordless noises of panic, cradling his body to hers. He feels the skitter of her fingers over him, checking his pulse, then his hands, tapping frantically at his cheek. 

Steadily, all the sensations vanish, he can't feel her, and can't see her, but he can open his mouth, and can still speak through a headache that's making his entire body pulse in agony.

"Who are you?"

The static is deafening at this point, and he thinks he was too late, even if she was still there, could he even hear her?

And like a ray of sheer determination, he can feel her clutch tight enough to spark recognition, voice pitched loud enough to   
overcome the white noise surrounding him.

"I'm L̷͡҉͢u̡͠p̸͜!! My name is *L̷͡҉͢u̡͠p̸͜!!*"

And then he wakes up.


End file.
